Best Rogue build in Baldur’s Gate 3: Race, skills, subclass & more
Larian StudiosWith stealth and power behind them, the Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogue can totally take over the battlefield – as long as they have the right build. So, here’s the best Rogue build in Baldur’s Gate 3.
At their core, Rogues are stealthy DPS characters. They’re able to move around the battlefield with ease, strike exactly where they need to, and disappear out of range all in one turn. After all, they’re not known as the deadly assassin class of Baldur’s Gate 3 for nothing.
However, to live up to all the hype, you’ll need to create your Rogue with care, which can be a little complicated, especially in a game as expansive as this. So, to help you out, here’s the best Rogue build in Baldur’s Gate 3 complete with the ideal race, skills, and more.
Contents
- Best race
- Best subclass
- Best background
- Best Ability Score
- Best Illithid powers
- Best multiclass options
- Best build for a Rogue
Larian StudiosBest race to choose for a Rogue in Baldur’s Gate 3
There are four different races to choose from when creating the best Rogue in the game:
- Wood Half-Elf
- Drow
- Wood Elf
- Lightfoot Halfling
We recommend using the Wood Half-Elf for Fleet of Foot, raising your movement speed and letting you dip in or out of combat.
If the Wood Half-Elf isn’t for you, it’s worth trying the Lightfoot Halfling because of its advantage on Stealth checks and extremely helpful Lucky feat.
Best subclass for a Rogue in Baldur’s Gate 3
Undoubtedly, the best subclass to choose for a rogue is the Thief. it prioritizes stealth, agility, and multiple attacks, making them extremely valuable on the battlefield.
You could go for Arcane Trickster if you want a bit more magic, but for pure damage and evasion, Thief is the best decision out there.
Best background for a Rogue
Choosing a background is imperative to grant you proficiency in skills you may need. For the Rogue, you want to choose Urchin as it’s arguably made for this class, granting you proficiency in Stealth and Sleight of Hand.
On top of this, it’s worth choosing some of these skills as well:
- Perception
- Insight
- Deception
- Persuasion
- Survival
Best Ability Score spread for a Rogue
Larian StudiosThe recommended Ability Score spread for the Rogue is pretty good, but if you want to optimize your character, try these:
- Strength: 8
- Dexterity: 17
- Constitution: 14
- Wisdom: 14
- Intelligence: 12
- Charisma: 10
The primary stat for the Rogue is Dexterity, so that’s naturally the highest here. Then, for a little more health, it’s worth increasing Constitution. Wisdom is ideal for important skills, and the rest are balanced, with Strength being the lowest due to the fact you’ll rarely need it.
Best Illithid powers for a Rogue
Larian StudiosFly
Thanks to your additional bonus actions and ability to dash using a bonus action, fly becomes one of the best powers you’ll be able to have. Using the ability, you can get away from the enemy using various points of elevation, making those sneak attacks so much easier to grab.
Displacer Beast Shape
One of the main elements that makes Druids so powerful are their wild shapes, so why not add it to your Rogue too? The Displacer Beast feels much like the Rogues ideal wild shape, and you can use it to get more allies in battle, control the enemy, and take them down, all without losing any of your traditional HP.
Repulsor
Rogues aren’t really supposed to get up front in the battle, but sometimes you can’t help but end up surrounded by the enemy. So, if that’s the case, you can use Repulsor to push anyone back 6, and deal 2d6 force damage.
Best multiclass options for the Rogue
Rogue and Ranger
The Ranger isn’t the most powerful class in the game, but it’s instead capable of greatly increasing the power of others, particularly the Rogue.
All this multiclass does really is add more power to your ranged attacks, which can be lifesaving depending on either your party build or your situation. You’ll also get access to some handy spells, which is never a bad thing.
Rogue and Fighter
The Rogue class is capable of dealing some extremely impressive damage thanks to its sneak attack, but really struggles to keep up with other classes when they’re unable to sneak. This is where the Fighter subclass comes in.
Thanks to the diverse subclasses and the fighting styles, you can excel in your damage no matter the situation. It makes the character fantastically versatile.
Best build for a Rogue in Baldur’s Gate 3
Race: Wood Half-Elf
Background: Urchin
Skills: Perception, Insight
Ability order from highest to lowest: Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma, Strength, Intelligence
Build layout:
| Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sneak Attack |
| 2 | Cunning Action: Dash & Disengage |
| 3 | Subclass: Thief |
| 4 | Feat: Dual Wielder |
| 5 | Uncanny Dodge |
| 6 | Expertise: Persuasion, Acrobatics |
| 7 | Evasion |
| 8 | Ability Improvement: Dexerity |
| 9 | Supreme Sneak |
| 10 | Feat: Mobile |
| 11 | Reliable Talent |
| 12 | Feat: Lucky or Alert (if you chose Halfling) |
There you have it, that’s the best Rogue build in Baldur’s Gate 3. While sneaking your way into battle, take a look at some of our other handy Baldur’s Gate 3 guides and content:
Best Sorcerer build | Best Bard build | Best Fighter build | Best Ranger build | Best Barbarian build | Best Druid build | Best Warlock build | Best Wizard build | Baldur’s Gate 3: What’s the max level cap? | Best Baldur’s Gate 3 classes tier list | How to revive characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Can you multiclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 | Baldur’s Gate 3 Soul Coins: How to get them & what they are | Baldur’s Gate 3: Fastest ways to get XP & level up | Baldur’s Gate 3: How to respec your character | Baldur’s Gate 3 Karmic Dice: What are they?
